Vick's Throws Have Lots Of Zip In First Practice

PHILADELPHIA — Michael Vick was walking through the Philadelphia Eagles' locker room Saturday, and defensive back Quintin Mikell noticed him looking down at his shoes, smiling.

"He was probably just happy to have some cleats on and get back out there," Mikell said, before Vick's first practice with his new team.

Just a few minutes later, Vick practiced for the first time in nearly three years. He did little that would be considered Vickian - the closest he came to scrambling was a four-stride job to where the quarterbacks were standing - but he showed enough pop in his left arm to convince observers that game condition might not be far off. He completed three deep passes of at least 40 yards each, but he took just four snaps against the full defense and completed two passes.

Late in the day, his passes wobbled a bit, perhaps a sign of fatigue. Still, Vick's greatest weapons are his legs, and the Eagles are being careful to bring him along slowly, the better to avoid a leg injury that would further slow his reimmersion into the NFL. He lifted weights in the morning and worked with the scout team, but his Wildcat days are still a while away.

Vick is not eligible to participate in a game for another 11 days, which is plenty of time for him to drop the two pounds coach Andy Reid estimates he is over his last listed playing weight of 215.

"If you're in a two- to three-pound range or a five-pound range, then that's pretty good after a two-year hiatus," Reid said. "But there's the other part, there's throwing the football and timing. Not every throw is going to be a perfect throw, and he's going to have to get his legs under him."

Reid added: "Remember, he's not coming off an injury. Now, he's not getting any younger, either. But once he gets back in shape, I don't think you're going to see a person that's slower, and can't throw as well. He's young enough to where he should be OK there."

Vick, 29, was never known for his accuracy; in 2006, his last season, he completed just 52.6 percent of his passes. But Reid believes Vick's familiarity with the West Coast offense the Eagles run will help accelerate his learning. Reid reiterated that Kevin Kolb would be Donovan McNabb's backup - for now.

Once Vick is fully reinstated during the regular season, he will most likely be activated on game day, not listed as an emergency quarterback, because that would limit his availability during the game.

Vick did not speak with reporters Saturday. Outside the front gate, a woman held a sign that read, "Hide Your Beagle, Vick's an Eagle," while a man wore a new No. 7 Eagles jersey. But Reid joked about what the Eagles were likely to encounter on the road.

"I would say that every stadium we go to, and most of them hold about 60,000 fans, and they're all protesters of the Eagles when you go in there," Reid said.